Content in His Providence
Paul understood that he was fulfilling the purpose of God whether he was experiencing abundance or abasement.
Paul was content because he knew his condition was ordained by his Creator. He understood that God brought both pleasure and pain into his life for a good purpose (Rom. 8:28). Paul knew that since the Lord wisely ordered his life, he could find strength in the Lord for any and all circumstances. Blaise... Continue Reading
Waiting for God Alone
How desperation teaches us to trust.
David didn’t seem to be feeling like his faith was growing stronger. He was feeling weak and vulnerable and fragile. He felt like an old stone wall, bowing out and ready to crumble. He felt like a rickety old fence that could easily topple over. This is how we often feel when we are learning to... Continue Reading
The Church’s Internal Rescue Mission: Jude 22–23
Jude’s final command is “to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.”
Just as Peter graphically described returning to sin as a dog eating its vomit and a pig wallowing in mire (2 Pet 2:22), Jude likewise shows us the ugliness of sin as excremental filth on our inner clothing. When showing mercy to those affected by false teaching, or even to the false teachers themselves, we... Continue Reading
Biblical Building-Blocks for Sexual Purity
What does it look like to express yourself sexually in an appropriate, self-controlled way?
When God expects something of Christians, he provides what they need to meet his expectation. There’s an important implication, and it’s this: If you are not exhibiting sexual self-control, it’s only because you haven’t taken hold of what God offers you through the gospel. The power is there; you’ve just refused to exercise it. ... Continue Reading
Treasures of the Christian Life Pt 7 – Heaven
This is best part of heaven: We will see the face of the Lamb of God. We will see Jesus.
Heaven is saturated with the manifestations of God’s attributes. His goodness, beauty, power, majesty, are all radiating from him and are clearly visible in all aspects of heaven’s design and construction. The earth and heavens that we know today will pass away (2 Peter 3:1–12) and will be replaced by the eternal heaven. There will be... Continue Reading
How Romans 8 Made Me a Calvinist
God is in charge. The outcome is secure.
God hasn’t left the composition of Christ’s family in the hands of fickle human beings. God does more than just influence—he predestines. That’s why all things will work together for the good of the called, and Christ will be the firstborn among many brothers (Rom. 8:29). Editors’ note: Take part in TGC’s Read the... Continue Reading
God Isn’t Fair (And That’s a Good Thing)
What you and I need now more than ever is not fairness but forgiveness.
On the Day of Judgment, no one will be able to accuse God of being unfair. Each of us will get exactly what we have cried out for. The standard will be the same for everyone. For the rich and the poor. For the oppressed and the oppressor. For the black and the white and... Continue Reading
Our King-Servant-Anointed Conqueror: Jesus
Isaiah saw the coming of Jesus who would bring redemption and restoration.
Isaiah saw the coming of Jesus who would bring redemption and restoration. This is why Isaiah is called “the evangelical prophet”—his entire focus is on the evangel, the “good news” of the gospel. Good news for sinners like you and me. Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights.... Continue Reading
Can an Angry Judge Be Just?
Our fair and furious God.
In ordinary human courts, a judge who feels personal fury toward the defendant would likely recuse himself. But in the divine court, wrath and fury are perfectly fitting. “For those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Romans 2:8). Why must God’s perfect... Continue Reading
“Gay Christian” Identity: Unadvisable, Unbiblical, and Unwise
For a Christian to identify with one proclivity and propensity to sin is unbiblical; sins related to our sexuality represent only one area of our lives where we are tempted.
For a Christian to identify with one’s proclivity and propensity to sin is unadvisable—unadvisable because it proclaims that sin still has dominion over you. It may even proclaim you are comfortable with it. For a Christian to identify with one’s proclivity and propensity to sin is unbiblical—unbiblical because it fails to recognize “. . .... Continue Reading